Activities and Traditions

Activities and Traditions

Here's a sight that may bring back memories for many Penn State alumni -- students waiting in line outside Steidle Building for West Halls resident hall contracts, on the University Park campus in the early 1970s.

Families and youths accustomed to attending Penn State's Great Insect Fair each fall will need to adjust their schedules. For this year at least, the popular annual event will leave the Bryce Jordan Center and instead will be part of the 2015 Ag Progress Days expo, Aug. 18-20.

Penn State Berks will welcome nearly 400 first-year members to its residential community as part of the campus' annual orientation program on Friday, Aug, 21. Students will move into the residence halls from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a welcome reception for students and their families at the Perkins Plaza from 2:30 to 4 p.m., which will be open to students, faculty, and staff of the campus.

Free, daily bus tours during Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 18-20, will give visitors an opportunity to get a glimpse of research projects at the 2,000-acre Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Tours will focus on topics such as crop production, woodlot management, wildlife habitat, biofuel feedstocks and water quality.

On July 1, nearly 2,300 first-year students stepped into a classroom at University Park for the first time, but many didn't do it alone. Close to two-thirds began their college career alongside an upper class student mentor as part of the Penn State Learning Edge Academic Program, or LEAP.

The celebration of the Penn State Berkey Creamery’s 150th anniversary kicks into high gear with the start of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts at the University Park campus and downtown State College.

As Birthday Cake makes its debut as the 150th anniversary flavor at the Penn State Berkey Creamery this week, Tom Palchak, who has served as its manager for more than 20 years, gave some insight on the decision making behind a new ice cream.

The Young People’s Chorus of Erie will hold its annual Summer Choir Camp on Monday, Aug. 3, through Friday, Aug. 7. The camp, which will be held at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, 134 W. Seventh St., focuses on developing singers’ voices through interactive workshops and expert instruction. The day camp is open to all children, ages 7 to 13, and it meets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Penn State Engineering Graduate Student Council and the Penn State student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics are hosting an American Red Cross blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 27 in Kunkle Lounge in Hammond Building.

Penn State New Kensington’s “Summer BBQ and Drive-in Movie” night continues Thursday, July 16, with “Big Hero Six” on the big screen in the campus’ upper parking lot. The BBQ starts at 8 p.m., and the family-oriented flick premieres at 9 p.m. If the capricious western Pennsylvania weather does not cooperate, the movie will relocate inside the Athletics Center where it will still be shown on a big screen. The movie is free to the public. The BBQ sandwiches are free to campus students and $5 for the general public.

"We Are...Penn State!" This chant, for many, encapsulates what it means to be a "Penn Stater" and part of an interconnected community that is recognizable around the world. Now that iconic phrase has taken on a tangible representation: The "We Are" sculpture, a gift of Penn State's Class of 2013, was installed June 30 on the University Park campus.

While past events like the Parade of Heroes and the Firecracker 4K Race will continue to be part of Central PA 4thFest, a country music concert will add to the activities that culminate with one of the best fireworks displays in the nation. The activities takes place on the University Park campus and in downtown State College.